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A Companion to The Cantos of Ezra Pound

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A COMPANION TO THE CANTOS OF EZRA POUND. By Carroll F. Terrell. 791 pp. (Published in Cooperation with The National Poetry Foundation, University of Maine at Orono, Maine). Berkeley : University of California Press, First Paperback Printing 1993 (1980). ISBN 0-520-08287-7

In his Preface, Terrell tells us that "the Companion was conceived to be the logical step" between 'The Annotated Index to the Cantos of Ezra Pound' by John Hamilton Edwards and William W. Vasse (1957) "and the definitive variorum edition of 'The Cantos' which would be the function of the future" (p.x). Originally published in two volumes, with 4,722 numbered glosses in Volume I and 5,649 glosses in Volume II, the 10,421 glosses have been conveniently brought together in the present 1-volume paperback edition. These glosses include translations from eight languages, identification of all proper names and works, Pound's literary and historical allusions, and so on. The text is based on the 1975 edition of 'The Cantos' published by New Directions and Faber.

Terrell also points out that, since 'The Cantos' is such a difficult poem, there is a very real need for it to "be made more easily comprehensible to a sizable audience of students and professors as well as critics" (p.ix). Hence the Companion "is not ... for Pound scholars who do not need it. It is ... a handbook for new students of 'The Cantos' who need it badly. Therefore it is not designed as a complete compendium of present knowledge about 'The Cantos,' with exegeses and analyses of the text; such a 10-volume work must be left to the future....The book is designed for the beginner so as to (1) answer his first and most immediate questions; (2) tell him where to go next for exegesis and comment; (3) tell him where to go to find the sources EP used" (p.x).

The Companion contains glosses on Cantos 1-16, Cantos 17-30, XI New Cantos, Leopoldine Cantos, The China Cantos, The Adams Cantos, The Pisan Cantos, Rock-Drill Cantos, Thrones, The Coke Cantos, Drafts and Fragments. The glosses range in length from a single line to several paragraphs, and many of them are very full. Each section is preceded with a short list covering Sources, Background, and Exegeses.

Terrell's own view of the poem, as he admits, has to a certain extent influenced his glosses. He tells us that, for him : "'The Cantos' is a great religious poem .... an account of man's progress from the darkness of hell to the light of paradise. Thus it is a revelation of how divinity is manifested in the universe..." (p.viii).

But although the major import of the poem can be stated simply, the fact of Pound having "opted for a musical thematic structure rather than the more traditional historical or narrative structure ... and the extreme concentration of his piths and gists [has made] the text difficult to adjust to " (p.viii). Hence the need of the reader for extensive glosses.

In a book of this nature, it would of course be impossible to satisfy everyone. Some readers will probably wish that certain glosses had been fuller, others less extensive, and yet others will probably go hunting for glosses which aren't there. Terrell has tried to strike a balance between what he felt might and might not be of use to the kind of reader the book is aimed at, and on the whole seems to have done an excellent job.

Besides the glosses on Cantos 1-117, the book also contains three Indexes : 1. an alphabetized Index to The Cantos; 2. an Index to Foreign Words and Phrases in Roman Alphabet; 3. an Index to Words and Phrases in Greek; 4. an Index to Chinese Characters. It appears that Pound used only about 300 different Chinese Characters in 'The Cantos,' not too large a number for the keen student to learn.

In Terrell's Index the Chinese Characters are printed, unfortunately, in a rather small font, and also (at least in my copy) are very poorly printed. This is the only part of the book which might have been much better, since beginners need to see large bold printed forms in which the structure of complex characters can be easily discerned, and not tiny weak faint smudges in which some of the strokes don't show up at all.

Happily, Terrell has thoughtfully provided Mathews numbers for all of the Characters, and readers with access to the easily available (and excellent) 'Mathews Chinese-English Dictionary' will quickly be able to locate clearly printed forms along with their definitions.

This book is a heavy volume, well-printed (except for the Chinese) in a small clear font in double columns on strong high-quality paper, and is bound in a sturdy wrapper. Although not stitched, it has one of those flexible glued spines that don't crack on opening, and seems designed to stand up to the heavy use a reference work of this kind can get.

Some of its readers will no doubt have quibbles, others will fail to realize the staggering amount of work that goes into writing a book of this kind, but all students of 'The Cantos' owe a huge debt of gratitude to Terrell for having provided them with an indispensable key to unlocking some of the many mysteries this beautiful but obscure poem holds.

Carroll Terrell's scholarship is a great help in deciphering the majestic complexities of the Cantos. To gain equivalent insight into the poems would require a life-time's reading and it allows for a more immediate experience of this important work than would otherwise be possible. It would be helpful if the book was even more inclusive and the entries even more extensive, but it seems presumptious to query this extremely helpful companion, especially since it is a single affordable volume. If the Cantos are one of the most essential books of C20th poetry (and I believe they are), then this book deserves to sell equally well.

Professor Terrell was my neighbor and a very kind man. He was also a World War Two veteran with a keen appreciation of Ezra Pound's astute assessments of twentieth century US militarism. We spoke at his home several times about Ezra Pound and about this book of scholarly exegesis. Professor Terrell said he spent six years preparing it with the help of English graduate students who collated his notes and assisted his research of recondite Poundian references. A Companion to The Cantos is a cornerstone of every Poundian library. Professor Terrell provides an annotation for nearly all the literary, religious, architectural, and historical references Pound consistently invokes throughout the Cantos. Like James Joyce's Finnegans Wake, the Cantos are nearly unintelligible without a companion reference; so for serious study this text is an excellent resource. It is hard to conceive penetration of the Cantos without it.

Another fine but far briefer reference is William Cookson's A Guide to the Cantos of Ezra Pound, Revised Edition. Unlike Terrell, Cookson concentrates less on Poundian vocabulary and more on the broad historical sweep of the Cantos. The two books together provide a master key.

This volume has been invaluable in my attempts to illuminate Ezra Pound's Cantos. Disregarding the words of those who shrink back from his genius, it can be said that Pound forged a singular poetry. However, the daunting initiation to his work is the mass of referential and anecdotal material that must be absorbed. This has intmidated pseudo-intellectuals since the work was written, and most likely accounts for the blatant hostility that is evident in other reviews.
This companion does not explicate The Cantos for the average reader, for Pound quite simply will never appeal to that reader. Rather, this work gives the earnest student the tools to allow these works to achieve their intended effect. It can reveal the raw substance that fills the beautifully sculpted verse, but the reader can and must allow it to achieve proper harmony within his own mind. It does not require genius, but it does demand a sincere and open mind. Once the music of these words - both the aural and the conceptual - has been grasped and integrated, then we begin to glimpse the majesty of Pound's achievement.

This volume has been invaluable in my attempts to illuminate Ezra Pound's Cantos. Disregarding the words of those who shrink back from his genius, it can be said that Pound forged a singular poetry. However, the daunting initiation to his work is the mass of referential and anecdotal material that must be absorbed. This has intmidated pseudo-intellectuals since the work was written, and most likely accounts for the blatant hostility that is evident in other reviews.
This companion does not explicate The Cantos for the average reader, for Pound quite simply will never appeal to that reader. Rather, this work gives the earnest student the tools to allow these works to achieve their intended effect. It can reveal the raw substance that fills the beautifully sculpted verse, but the reader can and must allow it to achieve proper harmony within his own mind. It does not require genius, but it does demand a sincere and open mind. Once the music of these words - both the aural and the conceptual - has been grasped and integrated, then we begin to glimpse the majesty of Pound's achievement.

If you agree that Pound's "Cantos" call out to all of literature, then Terrell's exhaustive "Companion" (over 10,000 glosses!) stands as its yellow pages.

This is absolutely indispensable for a serious study of Pound's Cantos, the glosses are totally thorough, and the companion maintains the brevity appropriate to its task. This book does not contain much in the way of criticism, and that is not what it is attempting to accomplish. This book makes Pound's allusions accessible, and allows the Cantos to be actually read on their own terms; the text includes information on every single thing which might be unintelligible for the very average reader, with indexes, supplements on Chinese characters, etc. If you intend to read or study the Cantos, in an at all meaningful way, you should use this text--unless of course you know greek, latin, chinese, italian, medieval history, World War II, Dante, economics, not to mention the whole English literary canon.

It is a truly useful book. But there are no references to the Italian Cantos ('These damned Eyetalians') nor the fragment at the end ('That her acts of beauty be remembered'). Maybe it is time for a new edition to come (?).